HCG injections

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DId anyone see that on the news about these injections ? They say you can lose 1 pound a day....

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  • MTLumps
    MTLumps Posts: 82 Member
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    So they say, but you are supposed to survive on about 500 calories a day for 10 - 15 days at a time - so very not healthy!!
  • danniwhit
    danniwhit Posts: 63 Member
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    I saw an article about it but the article I read said that in addition to the injections the people are on a 500 calorie a day diet!! I would rather workout, eat right and lose my weight the HEALTHY way so it stays off. No magic potions for me please! haha. I just don't trust things that promise quick easy weight loss...it SHOULD take work and dedication, not thousands of dollars, a needle, and hormones. imo of course.
  • hummzz
    hummzz Posts: 384 Member
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    Exactly! I'm really against using any pills or extra drugs to lose weight because once we reach out goal weight we will gain it back because we haven't learned how to eat properly to keep it off. Stick with a low cal low fat low carb menu and we SHOULD be able to keep it off!
  • verjavec
    verjavec Posts: 30 Member
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    A friend of mine did this. 500 calories per day for 15 days while getting the injections - with a very restricted list of foods you can eat for those 500 calories. She wasn't hungry at all - said her body used her own fat for calories... I don't know about that... seems to me there would be some muscle lost as well. She lost 20# in a month as a result. But it only stayed off for 2 months. Then it all came right back on. There are no quick fixes for long term weight loss. Lifestyle change is what you have to do if you want to keep the weight off permanently.
  • ChrisWag
    ChrisWag Posts: 169
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    I did 2 rounds of it, losing 40lbs total....and have kept it off since May. It is true. I promise. I know over 50 ppl locally and over 400 nationwide that have used it and it works....

    Search the protocol called "Pounds & Inches"
  • llbates
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    I am on the drops, and you do lose weight very quickly, the injections are costly and dangerous, the hormone you drop under your tongue allow you to survive on 500 cals and it actually seems like too much food
  • halphord
    halphord Posts: 379 Member
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    I did the hcg drops last year. I made it through about 12 days and lost 10 pounds. But, the food choices are VERY limited and it was hard for me to stick to. Although the drops did make me not hungry, I got sick of eating 3 oz of chicken and spinach every day. I did have headaches for the first week as well and when I quit doing the drops, I gained it all back and then some.

    Now, I am exercising and eating healthy and using the MFP app and I've lost 6 pounds in 16 days. Not quite as much as with the hcg, but I feel better and this is something I can stick to for life!!
  • bonnienm
    bonnienm Posts: 329 Member
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    But even if you lose the weight you have to change your eating habits in order to KEEP it off!
  • HawkeyeGuy
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    Read what she said about dedication, hard work, takes time, etc. Then re-read it, then commit it to your memory. And it's not just "IMO" - it's how it works. Bust your *kitten* at the gym, eat clean and in good portions...and repeat. Over, and over, and over. You will be healthy, and you will have earned it. And guess what, you'll actually maintain it.

    You will hear about a new diet, injection, pill, workout machine, etc. everyday becuase people want easy, and they make money from people wanting shortcuts. Guess what, there aren't any. If you keep trying shortcuts, you will stay unfit and unhealthy. Now go work out.

    I can now check off from my to do list: "Daily Rant on MFP about how diets and BS 'instant fixes' DO NOT WORK". Sorry if you've read my posts with repetitive points...but it doesn't seem to be getting through!!!
    I saw an article about it but the article I read said that in addition to the injections the people are on a 500 calorie a day diet!! I would rather workout, eat right and lose my weight the HEALTHY way so it stays off. No magic potions for me please! haha. I just don't trust things that promise quick easy weight loss...it SHOULD take work and dedication, not thousands of dollars, a needle, and hormones. imo of course.
  • hotmooglelove
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    I'd rather be bulimic then eat 500 cals and get shots (but I'd prefer neither)
  • mariapuhl
    mariapuhl Posts: 529 Member
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    One of my friends did it, and I've posted about it before....

    Long story short - he lost over 100 lbs in a semester...... and then gained it all right back. It didn't change his eating habits at all. Once it was over, he went back to eating 2 crunchy tacos, 2 burritos, a quesadilla, and a steak burrito from taco bell in the time it took me to eat one taco (true story). And he'd eat that for every meal.

    So, it might work, but unless you can change your habits (which doing the injections and 500 calories a day WILL NOT teach you), you're just going to gain it back.
  • _Bro
    _Bro Posts: 437 Member
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    In my own opinion diets are just like cheating.
    You take a shortcut to get ahead but in the end you learn less and are more likely to fail in the future.
    Because you got ahead without learning proper nutrition and exercise.
    The next test, keeping the weiight off will be harder, you didn't build your muscles...
    If you are lucky it won't lead you in a painful circle of failure

    One day at a time
    Improve your nutritional choices and exercise..
  • edorice
    edorice Posts: 4,519 Member
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    In my own opinion diets are just like cheating.
    You take a shortcut to get ahead but in the end you learn less and are more likely to fail in the future.
    Because you got ahead without learning proper nutrition and exercise.
    The next test, keeping the weiight off will be harder, you didn't build your muscles...
    If you are lucky it won't lead you in a painful circle of failure

    One day at a time
    Improve your nutritional choices and exercise..

    LIKE
  • sweebum
    sweebum Posts: 1,060 Member
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    Ok, I will sum up my opinion first- and then provide medical evidence.

    You follow a 500 calorie a day diet for 21 days or so. The hCG is supposed to help your hunger pangs.

    Yes it works. So does cutting off your legs. You will burn lean muscle tissue as well (you'll be losing weight too fast to hold onto it) which will drive your metabolism into the toilet. The claims are hCG stops this from happening. Medical evidence proves it doesn't. You lose weight because you're starving.

    So yes, you can lose the weight and then eat like a bird the rest of your life (because you'll have no muscle left to stoke your metabolism), or you can do subsequent "rounds" every time you gain weight.

    If you want to spend money, spend it on the ebook "Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle" by Tom Venuto. It's about burning off fat, not losing weight. Better yet, send me your email, I will email you a copy.

    Now the medical (I know, I know the FDA is controlling and hiding the secret of weight loss from us for all these years- before I get the comments that the government doesn't know everything)


    American Journal of Clinical Nutrition: 1976

    http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/137/2/151

    "Mean weight loss in the HCG-treated group was nearly identical to that achieved by women given the placebo."

    Journal of the American Medical Association: 1977

    http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/abstract/29/9/940

    "Twenty of 25 in the HCG and 21 of 26 patients in the placebo groups completed 28 injections. There was no statistically significant difference in the means of the two groups in number of injections received, weight loss, percent of weight loss, hip and waist circumference, weight loss per injections, or in hunger ratings. HCG does not appear to enhance the effectiveness of a rigidly imposed regimen for weight reduction."

    British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology: 1995

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8527285?dopt=Abstract

    "We conclude that there is no scientific evidence that HCG is effective in the treatment of obesity; it does not bring about weight-loss of fat-redistribution, nor does it reduce hunger or induce a feeling of well-being."

    South African Medical Journal: 1990

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2405506?dopt=Abstract

    Subjects receiving HCG injections showed no advantages over those on placebo in respect of any of the variables recorded. Furthermore, weight loss on our diet was similar to that on severely restricted intake.

    WebMD: 2007 (Review of The Weight Loss Cure 'They' Don't Want You to Know About by serial conman Kevin Trudeau)

    http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/weight-loss-cure-dont-want-you-to-know?page=3

    "Scientific studies have demonstrated that hCG injections do not cause weight loss, and regulatory actions by the Federal Trade Commission and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have curbed their use in the United States," says Quack Watch.org owner and director Stephen Barrett, MD.

    //End Rant
  • tessb84
    tessb84 Posts: 98 Member
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    People just need to stop giving in to these fad diets, its not that the pills you stop taking make you gain the weight back, you make you gain the weight back. it cant be a diet, it has to be a life style change. There is no magic fix.